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Outgoing Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt accepted the request from the country's King Albert to become the caretaker Prime Minister until March 23.

Outgoing Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt, whose Flemish Liberal party lost big in the June 10 elections, was sworn in by Belgium’s King Albert on Dec. 21, temporarily resolving the 194-day-long political crisis that placed a rare and surprising geopolitical spotlight on Belgium.

While primarily an institutional mess produced by Belgium’s convoluted, ethnic-based party system, the crisis was at heart a power struggle between the French-speaking (Walloon) and Dutch-speaking (Flemish) politicians. The Flemish parties hoped to use their June 10 electoral victory to further devolve federal power to the regions, mainly so they could keep a larger piece of the economic pie for the rich and vibrant Flemish part of Belgium.


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